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Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma (Image Source: Twitter)
Virat Kohli has been named in both the Test and ODI squads for the upcoming West Indies tour. Despite having a good IPL 2023 season with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he failed to deliver in the recent World Test Championship (WTC) final. But, now, he hit the headlines as Team India pacer, Ishant Sharma shares some untold stories about Kohli while speaking to Ranveer Allahbadia on his YouTube channel.
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Currently, Kohli is known as one of the most popular cricketers all around the globe. But, during his initial days, he was known for his flamboyant character. Ishant revealed that he has seen the 'party phase' and the 'tattoo phase' of his Delhi teammate. He also shared how Kohli partied all night and still scored 250 runs the next day during Under-19 days.
"I know that he was saddest when his father expired." - Ishant Sharma on Virat Kohli
Ishant said: “We were playing a U-19 match in Kolkata. He was batting overnight, yet partied all night and the next day he scored 250. I have seen that phase of Kohli as well. The best thing about him, according to me, is how he changed his physical aspect starting in 2012, after the World Cup. He was training, but because of his diet, his mental strength and cricket, in general, went to a different level."
The senior Team India pacer also shared the experience when Kohli went to bat the next day after his father expired. He said: "I have never seen him cry, but I know that he was saddest when his father expired. We were playing a Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka. He was batting overnight, and he used always pick me for the match. We used to go from Patel Nagar to Ferozshah Kotla. He was very serious (that day), and there was a video analyst with him. I asked him why he was so serious, but he did not reply.”
“I gave him a tapli (a gentle knock) on the head. Then the other person told me that his father has expired. I did not know how to react. We were 17. He still batted and scored 80 runs as well. If something like that had happened to me, I don't think I could even have gone to the ground," he concluded.